welcome senator kerry. i'm sorry that our careers in the senate will only overlap for a few weeks but i want to thank you because for those of us in our corner of the country who have come into public service, it has been your example that has inspired us to do so, your ability to both position yourself as a spokesman for the disenfranchised and steward for our country's interest around the world. a lot of us came into public service because of your work for our region. i thank you for that. i wanted to spend my short time turning to the asia-pacific region. and specifically spending a little bit of time on china as well. secretary clinton in a speech she gave in singapore some time back, crafted a great and simple phrase about how today for the first time in modern history you can become a global superpower simply through the power of your economy, not by the power of your military. china is the best example but it has now turned its focus to military might. in connecticut, we have 40% of our exports sent